Moscow Coffee Compost Project

Wednesday, October 10

This project, started in the autumn of 2008, uses student and community volunteer foot and pedal power to collect and compost spent coffee grounds from community and campus coffee sellers in Moscow, Idaho. Over three tons of grounds have been composted at local community gardens and student farms in only 9 weeks of operation. It is our goal to operate for much longer in the 2009-2010 school year. To do that, we need some more muscles and brains.

Please give our site a cruise. If you are a U of I student, consider becoming a part of our haggardly team and volunteering. If you are from a far away place, consider starting your own community compost project by visiting the 'how it works' and 'resources' posts or contacting the project at moco2pro@yahoo.com. Better yet, if you have been involved in a similar project, please share with us your ideas, suggestions, and resources.

Our History:MoCoPro was modeled after a similar project in Missoula, Montana (Missoula Urban Demonstration Project, or MUD - see video below) and slowly set in motion in 2008 by a University of Idaho junior and a small but intrepid group of his friends with a trailer made of orphaned bike frames welded together and a stack of old buckets. It was then adopted by the Ecology and Conservation Biology Club and sponsored by the UI Sustainability CenterStudent Grant Program to buy a real trailer. In the spring of 2009, it incorporated over 15 volunteers weekly on over a dozen foot and bike routes to collect grounds from 12 campus and community coffee sellers. Our grimy grounds are composted with the University of Idaho Soil Stewards Farm and the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute's Community Garden by an ever enlarging army of festering soil-borne creatures. The project would not exist without the gracious cooperation of many coffee sellers, UI staff, and community members. Please see the links list for sponsor and supporter details.